Snap fastener attaching machine



May 14, 1940. F. H. PETERSON .SNAP FASTENER ATTACHING MACHINE Filed Hay 7, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 3px/venido@ May 14, 1940, F. H. PETERSON SNAP FASTENER ATTACHING MACHINE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

Filed May '7, 1938 H/NHMHHHHHH Cal Patented May 14, 1940 UNITED STATES SNAP FASTENER ATTACHING MACHINE Frederick H. Peterson, Watertown, Conn., assignor to The Patent Button Company, Waterbury, C'onn., a corporation of Connecticut Application May 7, 1938, Serial No. 206,664

1 Claim.

My invention relates to new and useful improvements in button or snap fastener attaching machines, and has for an object to provide an additional mechanism on the machine, so that after a cap or socket member of a snap fastener has been attached to the `edge of a pocket, the garment may be placed in this button-attaching machine and the cup or socket member of the snap fastener will act as a guide for the positioning of the cooperating stud.

Another object oi the invention is to construct the new and improved mechanism so that not only will the previously attached cap or socket member of the fastener act as a guide or marker for the positioning and attaching of the stud, but the mechanism will move the aforementioned socket or cap out of alignment with the descending plunger, so that the stud may be attached to the cloth in proper alignment and without the necessity of the operator moving the cap out of the way by hand.

It is often desirable in work garments and work aprons to put a snap fastener at the top edge of the pocket and, of course, the male member or stud of the snap fastener will have to be directly under the socket member. The present invention assumes that a socket or cap member-has been fastened to the pocket patch and the pocket has been sewed to the garment. Then, with the cap or socket member acting as a marker or guide, the operator will place the garment in the machine With the cap or socket member directly against the guide and under the socket attaching plunger. However, on the descent of the plunger, a lever will temporarily move the socket memberI out of alignment of the downwardly descending plunger to permit the stud to be attached and then swing back to its normal position, ready for a similar succeeding operation.

Still another object of the invention is to provide an attachment or mechanism that may be readily secured to a button-attaching machine ci The Patent Button Company type, that is, the type shown in the patent to Frederick H. Peterson, Number 1,901,375, of March 14, 1933, and in the patent to Franklin R. White, Number 1,901,386, of March 14, 1933.

Still another object of the invention is to providey what might be termed a kick-out attachment, so that wherever it is desirable to place a stud or male member in the garment directly under a previously attached socket or female member, the operator will use the cap or socket as the marker and the lever will temporarily push (Cl. 21S- 6) the cap out of the way while the stud is being secured.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a simple attachment for a button or snap fastener attaching machine that is operated from the main plunger operating lever, so that on every stroke of the lever, a stud may be fastened to the vgarment in direct alignment with a previously attached socket member.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in certain new and novel features and combination of parts, as will be hereinafter more fully explained and pointed out in the claim.

Referring now to the drawings, 15

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a button (or snap fastener attaching machine) with the attachment shown in normal position, only that much of the button-attaching head being shown as is necessary to illustrate the invention; ,d

Fig. 2 is a front elevation thereof, the feed chutes being omitted for convenience of illustration;

4Fig. 3 is a fragmentary side elevation similar to Fig. 1, but showing the snap fastener being attached and the fastener cap and pocket ap being temporarily pushed out of the way;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged view of the snap fastener, the cap or socket being s hoWn attached to the pocket and the post or stud being attached to the garment proper.

It will be understood at the outset that the machine to which the invention is applied is a button-attaching head that has been converted into a snapl fastener attaching head, the parts all being the same with the exception of the chutes and other small changes that' permit the snap fasteners (stud and its washer or head) to be attached rather than a button with its staple or tacks.

Referring now to the drawings showing a preferred embodimentof the invention, and for the moment to Fig. 1, there is shown that much of a button-attaching machine of the typeset forth in the patent to Frederick H. Peterson, Number 1,901,375, of March 14, 1933, and in the patent to Franklin R. White, Number 1,901,386, of March 14, 1933, as is thought necessary to illustrate the present invention. There may be seen the base i with its curved upright standard 2, on the end of which is the tubular sleeve or bearing 3, in which operates the main plunger 4, which is connected by the link 5 to the main oscillating plunger or lever Ill. This oscillating lever I0, it will be understood, is operated through an `55 arm ll, which, in turn, is connected to a clutch,

which clutch is operated by a foot pedal (the clutch and foot pedal not being shown). The

- oscillating lever il) is pivotally mounted, as at dit to the standard 2 of the frame l.

Beneath the plunger Ll is the table i3, through which extends the anvil ill, on which there is mounted a carrier l5 with the stud-holding jaws E. There is also fragmentarily shown a portion of thc button feeding chute Vl, which, in this instance, will carry the washer or head for the s ad, while beneath the same may be seen the delivery end of the chute i8 which carries the stud of the fastener (shown in dot and dash lines). As will be understood, the parts enumerated are shown and described in the two patents above-mentioned, although, lin that instance, buttons are shown as being attached rather than snap fasteners.

Before describing the present invention in detail, it is to be noted that the cap or socket member of a snap fastener is formed of two major parte, that is, the cap and what I term the washer, and likewise the stud comprising two parte, i. e. the stud proper and the washer or head, which latter clamps the stud to the garment and over which head, in use, is snapped the cap.

The present invention consists in an attachment, which will be shortly described in detail, that may be readily tted to a button-attaching machine, as above described, the invention consisting primarily of a lever which will momentarily move a previously attached socket and a portion of the pocket flap out of the way, so

that a stud may be properly fastened to the garment, which stud is to cooperate with the socket on the aforementioned flap.

This lever, in turn, is operated on every upstroke of the oscillating lever l, which lever also, it will be remembered, is the one that operates the plunger Il for attaching the snap fastener to the garment.

t will be 'appreciated that many of the parts of the button-attaching head have not been shown, such as the tucker slide, hoppers, etc., but as they form no part of the present invention, only that much is shown which it is thought necessary tol explain the operation of this kick-cut attachment.

On one side of the sleeve 3 in which the plunger il is guided, there may be seen the pivotally mounted' bell-crank lever I9, which extends downwardly to a position below the button receiver cupI 29 (in this instance a snap fastening receiver cup) and has the inwardly extending foot 2l, which has the longitudinally positioned V-groove 22 formed in its front face. The upper end of the lever i9 has the inwardly extending leg 23, at the outer end of which is mounted a small roller 2d. Through the leg 23 may be seen an adjustment screw 25, which is designed to cooperate with a stop 2B secured to the frame of themachine for limiting the rearward movement of the lever.

Now this bell-crank lever, which I have termed the kick-out mechanism, cooperates with a cam 21 mounted on the stud l2, which is the same stud on which is mounted the main oscillating lever lil. Extending outwardly from the oscillating lever i3 is a small block 29, to which is fastened the cam 21' by the screws 33. The cam drops away at 3l, so that when the lever l0 is in its lowermost position (as shown in Fig. l) the bellcrank lever i9 will be in the position as shown in Fig. 1, that is, a washer or head of a snap fastener stud will be directly over the anvil I4 and in direct alignment with the attaching plunger 4 when the garment is in position. A small spring 32 is fastened to the lever i9 at 33 and to the frame of the machine at 34, so that when the oscillating lever or plunger lll is in its lowermost position, the kick-out attachment will always be returned to the position as. shown in Fig. 1.

However, when the oscillating lever is raised to attach the snap fastener stud, the roller cam 2l will have assumed the position shown in Fig. 3 and, depressing the roller 2li of the arm 23, will move the bell-crank lever I9 together with its foot 2l tothe position shown in Fig. 3. Thus, on every upward movement of the oscillating lever I il, the bell-crank lever 19-23 will be forced outwardly at its lower end 2l and returned by spring action to its innermost position on the lowering of the lever.

In Fig. 4, showing the enlarged sectional view of the complete snap fastener attached, may be seen the cap p-roper 35 with its washer 36, and likewise the stud 31 with its washer or head 38.

Also, as heretofore mentioned, the present invention is designed primarily for locating a stud lat the edge of a pocket hap to receive a previously positioned socket of a snap fastener.

In Fig. 1 is shown a fragmentary portion of the garment 39 with the pocket patch 4U and its previously attached cap or socket 35 of a snap fastener. This cap or socket member is located by a guide (not shown) and thenr attached in another machine to the edge of the pocket patch, after which the patch is sewed to the garment.

Now to position and fasten the stud 3l to the garment in true alignment with the aforementioned cap 35 of the snap fastener, the operator will place the garment on the table i3 and fit the cap S5 within the V-groove 22 formed in the front face of the foot 2i of the bell-crank lever I3, as shown in Fig. l.

It will be noticed that the cap 35 of the snap fastener is directly over the stud 3l, which has been moved out to the attaching station, and resting on the anvil ill. This is done by a tucker slide (not shown).

It will also be noticed that there is a washer or head 38 positioned in the receiving cup 2t, so 'i that when the plunger d with its die 4l descends, it will push the washer 33 of the stud through the button receiver cup 2t down on the stud 31, which, as previously mentioned, is in direct alignment with the cap 35.

To do this, however, it is necessary to push the cap 35 out of the way of the downwardly descending plunger and this is done by the aforethe pocket assume their normal position. After the stud has been properly attached, the oscillating lever lil will return to the position shown in Fig. l and likewise the kick-out attachment, so that the machine is ready to receive the next garment or the same garment with a further pocket, vand the operation may again be repeated.

Thus, it will be seen that with the present mechanism built into the button-attaching head or snap fastener attaching head, the cooperating stud of a snap fastener may be accurately positioned, quickly attache-d, and Without the op'- erator moving the cap and part of the pocket out of the way by hand.

Also, as previously mentioned, the studs and their Washers will be successively fed to the attaching station of the machine, so that on every movement of the oscillating lever, a stud and washer may be fastened to the garment.

I have found the machine to be very rapid in operation and the alignment of the stud with the cap denitely assured.

Having thus ldescribed my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

In combination with a snap fastener attaching machine having a plunger, a bearing for the same, an oscillating lever for operating said plunger, a fastening station for supporting the 25 stud of a snap fastener, means for holding a Washer for clenching the stud .to a garment; together with a bell-crank shaped guide and kickout member secured to said bearing, the upper arm of the said bell-crank shaped guide and kickout member being in close proximity to the forward end of said oscillating lever, said guide and kick-out member including a guide foot at its lower end and provided with a groove, the foot normally extending beneath the plungerand being adapted to engage the socket of a snap fastener previously attached to the garment, a cam mounted on the forward end of said oscillating lever for operating said bell-crank shaped guide and kick-out member when said lever operates said plunger to thereby push the socket out of alignment with the plunger during the descent thereof and permit the plunger during the de-V scent thereof to attach the stud to the garment in alignment with the aforementioned socket, means for returning the said guide and kick-out member to normal position, and means for aligning, the foot with relation to the plunger when the foot is in its normal position.

FREDERICK H. PETERSON. 

